The prices at hot new restaurant openings are trending ever upward. As diners look for innovative, interesting concepts that don’t thin out our wallets, industry investors seem more excited to invest in high-concept eateries that cater to the comfortably well off.

Case in point: upcoming French bistro Bullion. Owner Bruno Davaillon told the The Dallas Morning News, “I want a place where people can come two or three times a week.” He also said, in the same interview, that meals will be about $80 per person.

Most of us can’t spend $80 on dinner three times a week. But we certainly want to enjoy the occasional classy date night. An intimate environment, something interesting to drink, damn good food: Surely that’s still affordable somewhere, right?

Here are seven restaurants — and one bar/restaurant crawl — we wholeheartedly recommend as elegant, enjoyable and absolutely date-night worthy without blowing your budget. We used a baseline of about $50 for food for two people, although many of the suggestions below are so affordable that $50 to $60 for two will also cover drinks.

Time to text your partner or start swiping right a little harder: Classy yet affordable is back.

Midcentury modern aesthetic is strong at Sassetta.

Alison McLean

Wine and pizza night: Sassetta1617 Hi Line Drive (Design District) Sassetta’s a little loud, but it’s also a rare combination: exquisitely trendy and surprisingly reasonable. Push through the comically huge front door to a sunlit interior full of warm colors and white-clad waiters proffering fresh pizzas. A shared salad, pizza (with a perfectly snappy crust and, after an appetizer, just the right size for two) and a glass of wine per diner will come out to just about $50, but it’s worth spending a little extra on a slice of the lemon cake topped with pine nuts or on an extra glass from Sassetta’s extensive, adventurous, all-Italian wine list.

Sixty Vines brings elegant and modern but affordable date-night vibes to the 'burbs.

Kathy Tran

Wine and pizza night in the 'burbs: Sixty Vines3701 Dallas Parkway, Plano Sixty Vines is another riff on the thin-crust, fresh-veggie pizza trend, with a surprisingly decent house label of California wines and an extensive list of vino on tap. (Yes, tap.) Plus, it’s in Plano, making this the perfect place for workers around Legacy to enjoy happy hour or a bowl of fettuccine with diced squash and a sunny side up egg yolk perched on top. One caveat: Sixty Vines is loud, popular and often very busy. What it lacks in intimacy, the huge restaurant more than makes up for in first-date conversation points. Oh, and a couple of bowls of pasta, a couple of glasses of wine and a portion of devil’s food cake with salted-caramel ice cream will come out to about $50.

Lima Taverna's pescado a lo macho is a big, boisterous parade of seafood, almost all of it perfectly cooked.

Kathy Tran

For the adventurous eater: Lima Taverna621 W. Plano Parkway, Plano One of the most exciting Plano openings of 2017, Lima Taverna plates fabulous seafood, from the pescado a lo macho stew to the often-fiery ceviches. Its interior is a nostalgia-filled trip to Peru, and the excellent pisco sours served at the bar certainly don’t hurt. A Peruvian dinner might be a good way to find out if your date has adventurous tastes, although if not, the restaurant serves a first-rate grilled pork chop, too. Either way, you will look in-the-know for recommending an elegant restaurant that still qualifies as an underappreciated hidden gem.

Noodles and a show: Royal China6025 Royal Lane (North Dallas) Ask, if you can, to sit at the noodle bar, where some of Dallas’ best dough experts are pulling fresh noodles by hand and forming dumplings from scratch. Order soup dumplings with paper-thin wrappers, made before your eyes, containing pork and a scrumptious savory broth, a sort of culinary magic trick. Don’t miss dan-dan noodles, either, in any of the varieties. There’s other food on Royal China’s menu, too, and it’s pretty consistent, but once you see the noodle makers at work, it’s not likely you’ll feel a desire to order anything else.

Brian Reinhart has been the Dallas Observer's food critic since spring 2016. In addition, he writes baseball analysis for the Hardball Times and covers classical music for the Observer and MusicWeb International.